Fire speaks to something ancient and primal in all of us.

Fire has the power to bring people together — and it's fire, or more precisely the spinning of fire — that binds a Nevada City performance group calling itself Beyond Fire Tribe.

The tribe was founded in 2008 after “Shin,” or leader, Jesse Churchill, and a small group of friends at Burning Man — the quasi-pagan performance art conclave starting at the end of this month in the Nevada desert — witnessed others practicing the art of fire spinning.

Fire spinning is the manipulation and movement of objects that have been set ablaze.

“The very first time I lit the fire, the entire world just disappeared,” said Marya Hicks, a Beyond Fire Tribe member whose specialty is keeping a burning hula hoop in motion. “Having the heat all around you and the sound of it is mesmerizing. Once you've experienced it, you're addicted.”

The tribe consists of a core of seven 20-somethings, with another dozen or so active members.

Their mission: Create an environment for all things performance art- and dance-related.

Along with Churchill and Hicks, other core group members include Jeffrey Dupra, Isaiah Dusseljee, Katie Creighton, Jessica Wadatz and Aeron Miller, who is co-Shin and oversees all the choreography.

Beyond Fire Tribe uses hula hoops, chains and nylon rope, fans and batons, all fitted with wicking material that is soaked in lighter fluid and then ignited.

Their presentation revolves around a circus theme with dancers, a strong man, fire breathers, clowns and jugglers, all choreographed to music.

“We held our first practice at Pioneer Park until the police put a stop to it,” Churchill laughed. “A squad car showed up and he just kind of sat and watched. After a couple of minutes, he told us, ‘OK, I don't know why you can't do this, but you need to stop.'”

Since that humble beginning, the tribe has practiced in various locations and spends much of its rehearsal time at the house Churchill and Dupra share, about 3 miles north of Nevada City.

In the last two years, the tribe has performed close to 20 times at various events, including weddings, and concerts, their repertoire of tricks growing in the process, Churchill said.

Fire-spinning is dangerous, but according to Churchill, the tribe is extremely careful and take all precautions.

The group has never had a major accident, but it's not uncommon for members to suffer minor burns as they perform, Churchill said.

Several members showed off small spots on their arms and shoulders that had been burned, almost as a badge of honor. The message is clear: Kids, don't try this at home.

For Churchill, the future of the tribe holds the promise of bigger things to come.

“We're feeling pretty legit now,” Churchill said. “Our repertoire is tight enough and our ability to work together strong enough, that we can create something that is really impressive.”

Beyond Fire Tribe is preparing to perform at this year's Burning Man Event, scheduled to run Aug. 30 through Sept. 6. The event draws close to 50,000 people annually in the Black Rock Desert to watch an enormous wooden effigy go up in flames.

Tribe members — and 33 other fire-spinning groups from around the world — have been invited to perform in what is called the Fire Conclave, which precedes the official lighting of the Man.

“Lately we've had to turn down some offers to perform, because we're trying to focus on getting ready for Burning Man,” Churchill said. “There will be a group of about 40 of us going.”

Tom Kellar is a freelance writer living in Cedar Ridge.

'Unconditional love': Nikko Wu

Nikko Wu lives in Nevada City:

How do you discribe color to the blind? That's what Burningman to me. It's three-dimentional and beyond.

The arts feast my eyes, expand my mind and people crack open my hearts. I wish everyday we live were like Burningman: Total acceptance, unconditional love and explosive creativity.

In the early days: Robert Steuber

This is a true story about the Burning Man festival before it became very expensive to go there, written by Grass Valley resident Robert Steuber in 1996 and sent to The Union:



This story is about the Burning Man Festival which is probably one of the worlds greatest parties, freak shows and happenings all thrown into an honest-to-God desert on a dry lake in the wilds of Northern Nevada.

This is the third or fourth year that the festival has been held in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. It used to be held on a beach in the San Francisco Bay Area, but it got way too big for a public beach. The Black Rock Desert is all on property which is owned by us the taxpayers of this great land. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Anyway a whole lot of people go there on the Labor Day weekend and generally have a huge party and a VERY good time!

Thanks to the miracle of my Global Positioning Satellite Receiver and having the longitude and latitude of the Burning Man Site, the Pumpkin (my orange and white 1968 Cessna 150 airplane) and I arrived over the camp without even getting a little bit lost or disoriented. The wonders of modern navigation !

That little hand held receiver even read out zero miles when we passed over the center of the camp! The word camp does not do justice to what I saw from my magic carpet, I mean this camp, which was laid out more or less in a circle went and on and on for miles.

But here I am wandering all over the sky and the paper at the same time. My arrival and my landing (my first on a dry lake bed) were uneventful. Well anyway pretty good.

The focal point at the very center of this huge camp was a forty foot high human effigy made out of wood and who knows what else. This figure has neon lights and is erected by a large crane. On Sunday night the lights are neoning and the crowd is dancing and playing and the fire works go off and they burn this wonder down into charcoal.

Being an old and basically conservative guy, I exited my airplane in my standard garb of a full length striped caftan and a pure white burnoose with gold trim and a white rope to hold it on my head, of course I was wearing my faux Birkenstocks from Kame Apart.

Boy was I surprised as no one even gave me a second glance until I got my wheelchair out and started to wheel around. I guess that the costume was not quite enough to get any attention. Of course you have to understand that this was definitely a clothing optional type of happening.

My temporary abode was aptly named The Airplane Camp, it was right next to the Rave Camp which was as wild a bunch as has been in the west since the days of the cowboys and Indians thing.



I did feel a little bad when I realized that I sort of fit into the whole scene, after all my father was a policeman.

After hanging out at the Airplane Camp for a while I became restless and decided to go see the rest of the camp. I got back in the Pumpkin and flew low and slow over the camp. Did I mention that the camp was about three miles from North to South and at least a mile or two from east to west?

This was a collection to warm the heart of any camper. Truck mounted campers, the ubiquitous Volkswagen buses, tents, tarps motorhomes and vans, old bread vans and some really expensive wheels. Also possibly the worlds best and most complete collection of psychedelicaly painted retired school busses.

The biggest airplane there was a Beechcraft King Air, now for you non-aviation types we are talking really big bucks here, I mean over a million U.S. dollars for this one airplane. According to my on staff flight instructor G. Gordon Mills the guy came in from L.A.L.A land and wandered around mumbling that this was not his kind of place or his kind of people, that is for the first day , the next day he was seen wearing less and less clothing until he was observed pre-flighting his super expensive kerosene burner in the altogether just before he departed for lala land.





Having gotten tired of hanging out in the airplane camp I borrowed a Honda 90 motorcycle and motored over to the central camp and the central promenade where the real happenings were happening. There I found lawn bowling sans the lawn, horse shoe pitching, beach volleyball and various and sundry other games and sports going full tilt. Also I noticed a long line of people Queued up in front of a barbecue which was going full blast. The proprietor was grilling and selling Mad Cow Burgers! At least he claimed that the beef was imported from England and was guaranteed to be from mad cows.

The next thing that my wandering eyes beheld with wonder and awe was a giant mud puddle which was filled with at least fifty people who were mud wrestling and generally cavorting about with obvious glee and merriment. Did I mention that all of these august souls were clothed only in mud? Well they were and they were having the time of their lives. Now you have to understand that these were only the preliminaries as the real reason for being there is to burn the effigy. At least I think that is the real reason.



I swear that I did not just fall off of the Honda (a la Laugh In) while I was looking at the most gorgeous nude female that I have ever seen walking across the playa, I know that it was probably a rock that I hit, even though it must have been the only rock on that whole damn dry lake bed. The sad thing is that in the ensuing excitement someone must have picked it up and made off with it as I couldn't find the thing later! The best part is that the girl with the wonderful body helped pick this poor old guy and the Honda back up.



The Washoe County Sheriffs Office had two officers on the scene and they were doing a truly wonderful job of looking the other way and being good public relations people. Of course I don't think that there were enough law enforcement people within three hundred miles in any direction to quell any problems if the crowd got out of hand. From what I saw the crowd was having a blast, but no one seemed to be getting too far out.



The cars and the costumes were a sight to behold; A rocket car which had an air cooled VW Beetle engine and transaxle, a car shaped like a giant white shark and various and sundry paint jobs left over from the sixties. The costumes ran the gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous. The lack of costumes was also a sight for sore eyes, especially the poor old guys sore eyes. Young and old and in the middle were all there to see and be seen. Everyone that I saw seemed to be having a very good time. I know for sure that I was having a good time!

One of the wonders of the festival is “couch surfing” to participate all you need to do is haul an old couch out to the playa with you and tie it to a vehicle, then load as many people on the couch and in the tow vehicle as you can get. Then the rest is easy, just pull it around as fast as you can. The best of the couch surfers that I saw was a motorized couch that ran under its own power. Leading the way for this eighth wonder of the world was a remote controlled floor lamp which was also running under its own power. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!



Anyway after my mind went into sensory overload from all of the bare bodies and the really creative things and people that I saw, I had to return to the world of reality. Sad thing having to leave all of this to return to the work-a-day humdrum life that we all seem to have to endure to keep food on the table.

But, you can be assured that I will be back next year, with my motorhome and my tow-along four wheel drive truck. I also saw a popcorn machine at the warehouse place that could help pay for the trip. Oh, I also could cook and sell Felix Frankfurters and I have to admit that custom t-shirts did enter my mind.

So I climbed back into the pumpkin and flying over the camp I resisted an urge to buzz the whole show (SURE I DID!). Rocking the wings gently I flew off into the setting sun. I will have to wait until next year to see the actual burning.

Oh, I almost forgot, I need to tell you more about the origin of the Burning Man Festival. But that is another story in the continuing saga of the Burning Man and the Burning Question.

A spiritual stage: John Thompson

My name is John Thompson and I am 63 years Young. I live in San Jose, Ca and was talked into going to Burning Man 2009 (Last year) by some special friends.. I took three young men with me I had never met before. Two of them had never been before. either.. ( We were Three New Virgins)...lol.... We All had the time of our life's.... and agreed to return in 2010. No Matter What.. Now... My experience....

First off, You are Totally Isolated for the entire time, as there are No cell phones signals and No Computer connections. ( I think they scramble the signals ??).. At Base camp, they do offer FREE five minute phone call anywhere in the world for emergencies or just checking in with friends or family.

For me, it was Very Spiritual... as my life is now "On the Back Slope" as some would say... Having just seen my life's work go down the drain with the economy and having my last daughter turn 18.... being single after twenty years... It was time for me to "Re-Group"... and get back on track with my Life and Future...

Burning Man was the Perfect Place to gather my thoughts... Among thousands and thousands of "Strangers"... you felt like they were All Family... and I saw Nothing there but Love and a Genuine Giving from the Heart... I basically knew No One.. and being 63 , Shaved head and stocky build..... Hardly the Brad Pitt look.... found everybody treating me as a Special. friend.. Going out of their way to Say Hello and invite me into their camp and join them... Gifting and Sharing... Everywhere...

The Best way for me to explain my experience I think, is this... At the front gate and as you enter.. they have a sign that really says it all... "Welcome Home"... as I sit here righting this letter, I just got over come with emotion and started to cry... Just remembering how Great it feels being there..... among so many Happy Giving people..... Like coming home to your Family after being gone for many many years...and they All Come out to Greet you... and Welcome you back...

Now its four days before we depart for Burning Man 2010. I am taking two of the three men back with me from last year (the third guy is coming with other friends from LA), AND I'm am bring Three New Virgins as well... A Lady friend and two young men (18&19) .

This year I am Much better prepared with Gifts to give away... ( Kind of like Christmas)... I have 200 Dust masks and 200 Chap Sticks and Several bottles of Body Lotion. All to give to my New Virgins to get them in the Spirit of Gifting to Others... We are also set up to give away Coffee every morning and Cookies... ( and water on a limited supply).. (Remember, money has No Value at BMan... everything is Gifted..)

I can't wait. to get back Home.... and this is the One thing I will do the rest of my life.... No Matter what... If I'm above ground... I'll be there....

Each of us had a different experience. For me, I left with a Feeling of being "More Complete" and "Centered". I have a Fresh Positive Outlook for the rest of my life......

I do hope you come to experience it for yourself... The weather can be harsh... But the Love and meeting new friends.....way overcomes the Hardships...

Have a GREAT DAY..... John Thompson

'Wussed out': Julie Carroll-Shea

Until recently, my husband, Mike Shea, and I both planned to go to this year's "Burning Man" in Black Rock City, NV. Mike claims he has always wanted to attend “Burning Man.” I've never wanted to go there, but convinced myself it would be a worthwhile, once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience.

We soon found out it's also an expensive experience. In addition to the pricey tickets, when we checked into renting an RV, we were told it would cost $5000 for the week-long event. So, instead of renting an RV, we bought a small, used, travel trailer, that has beds, a bathroom, stove, refrigerator, and, equally important, provides privacy and protection from the elements.



We began planning what food to take, what costumes to create, what alternative entertainment to bring along (cribbage and lots of books for me). We watched DVDs of former years' "Burning Man" events to fuel our excitement.

Then, we decided to make a trial run to Fort Bragg pulling our new-to-us trailer with our mid-size SUV. "Trial" is the right word for it. About 90 miles down Hwy. 80, our plans for taking the trailer to Black Rock City died, along with our car's transmission. No Fort Bragg, either. The trailer had been my hope for surviving the extreme heat, dust storms, sudden deluges of rain and the lack of "civilized" sanitation that are intrinsic aspects of “Burning Man.” I wussed out. Sold my ticket and will stay home with the dog and cat.

I regret that I'll miss seeing the beautiful, funny, outrageous, and amazing spectacles that are the alluring aspects of “Burning Man.” Mike still plans to go, but his accommodations will be our small utility trailer, outfitted with PVC poles, a piece of plywood, and a big tarp. Fortunately, Mike is a seasoned back-packer, so is used to roughing it. He's also an excellent photographer (he won three first-place awards for his photographs at this year's Nevada County Fair), so I look forward to enjoying his “Burning Man” photos and dealing with my regrets in the comfort of home.